Socio-Economic Theories and Communism

The following must be guided and goaded towards the Supreme Self by remembering that the human body is a biological machine:

• your social service
• your socio-economic theories
• your political life
• your cultural life

If this is done, selfishness will not arise in the human mind.

But political parties and socio-economic organizations forget this fact, and so they guide the world adversely.

This is what happened to the Communist Party because they had no spiritual cult, no spiritual goal.

• Thus, as long as communism exists, the world will continue to suffer.

Communism must go immediately or be removed without any delay.

The human body or human existence is a biological structure goaded by psychology, by certain vrttis [propensities]. Similarly, socio-economic life is a biological structure goaded by psychic urges and the different psycho-physical propensities; that is, it is goaded by psychology. So socio-economic life is also a biological structure.

It has to obey certain norms and rules.

The socio-economic structure of society is a biological structure goaded by psychic urges.

Karl Marx went against human psychic passion and urge when he said that property should be owned by the state, by communes.

Both our socio-economic life and the human biological structure are goaded by psychic urges – by fundamental psychic urges – by psychology.

Collective social life – socio-economic theory – and the human biological structure are both goaded by psychology, psychic urges, and psycho-physical passions and propensities.

These cannot be ignored, they cannot be neglected.

Our ambitions are something that push us from within to fulfil the demands of certain urges which have some clear-cut pabula. Urge is there; the initial sentiment, that is, the inborn instinct, is there. At the same time, there are certain fundamental socio-psycho-physical demands, passions and propensities. One must not forget this.

All socio-economic theories propagated in the past ignored this fundamental requirement of humans beings, and that is why they failed. Marxism is one such theory. This is the reason why it failed, but its failure is not a distinct or special case. The approach of socio-economic theories should not go against the approved structure of human requirements. Now those who once supported communism are themselves finding the reasons for the failure of Marxism and one of its branches, Euro-communism.

The spiritual thirst, the spiritual hunger, is also one of the subtle passions, the subtle propensities, of the human mind. In the múládhára cakra there are four propensities – dharma [psycho-spiritual longing], artha [psychic longing], káma [physical longing] and mokśa [spiritual longing]. So spiritual longing is a fundamental human urge.

Human beings cannot go against or deviate from the recognized path of the One who controls the thought-waves of the universe (Iishvara) – the recognized path or mainstream of human life. They cannot. For all theories, for all practices, for all cults – one cannot deviate from this fundamental path.

Urge is called utcetaná in Sanskrit. [Someone with an urge will set aside all obstacles and move ahead.] Suppose a man tells his friend that he wants to go to Calcutta, but his friend objects. If the man does not listen to any of these objections, pushes his friend aside and leaves for Calcutta, it is called “urge”.

Passion is called utvrtti in Sanskrit. [One who has a passion will threaten to take or even take physical action against those who place obstacles before him, and then move ahead.] If the man threatens his friend for trying to prevent him from going to Calcutta, it is called “passion”.

Propensity is called vrtti in Sanskrit. If the man asks his friend to accompany him to Calcutta because he has many desires and hopes that can only be fulfilled there, it is called vrtti.

Sentiment is called bhávapravanatá in Sanskrit. If the friend says, “Why do you want to go to Calcutta when it is always water-logged and congested? It will adversely affect your health. Listen to reason!” but still the man goes, this is called “sentiment”. The human psyche is guided by these four aspects. Socio-economic theory and cult have to adjust with them.

Take an example. The psychology of farmers is such that under normal circumstances they will never sell their land. Whenever a farmer donates a piece of land to someone it is usually out of pressure of circumstances or adherence to a high ideal.

So any philosophy that preaches that all land belongs to the state goes against this basic aspect of human psychology. This is how the teachings of communism go against fundamental human psychology. Similarly, if a farmer is told by the authorities to give one thousand kilos of rice from his fields, he may give them, but if he is told to give them from his home, his wife may only give one hundred kilos. This is because she is accustomed to staying around the home, so her world is very small.

Her psychology is also different from that of the authorities. So, although various groups of people have their own psychology, a socio-economic theory should not go against the fundamentals of human psychology.

You have got a human body. Make the best utilization of it. Forget everything of the past from this very moment.

Bigŕi jiivan anek hi sudhari janam áj Jay Rám ki Rám japu tulsi taju ku samáj. [Many of my past lives have gone in vain, but now my life is rectified. I will dedicate myself to the lotus feet of Rama and work for Rama, leaving all worldly attachments.]

This is for every one of you – the younger ones as well as the older ones. Go on working in such a way that you give your proper worth to society, and you bring about the actual evolution of humanity. Be a devotee of humanity as well as a devotee of Parama Puruśa. Let victory be with you.

20 July 1990, Calcutta